Pre-k gives kids social edge, more pass kindergarten, Vanderbilt says

While the early reading and math benefits of prekindergarten may diminish quickly, research at Vanderbilt University shows 4-year-olds who have the benefit of early schooling are more likely to progress in kindergarten and have better school attendance.

In a study of 3,000 low-income 4-year-olds from school districts across the state, including Memphis, 4 percent of the children with pre-K were retained in kindergarten compared to 8 percent who did not attend prekindergarten.

"If you are not familiar with what happens in school systems, you might be surprised that kids get retained in kindergarten," said Mark Lipsey, director of Vanderbilt's Peabody Research Center, which conducted the research. "We are aware it is a relative few kids, but it is still twice as many who didn't have pre-K."

The Memphis City Council approved a measure Monday that will allow city voters to decide this fall if they are willing to pay a half-cent more in sales tax to fund pre-K. The additional tax would generate about $47 million a year; about $30 million would be used to serve an additional 5,000 4-year-olds in the city. The rest of the money would go to reduce property tax rates.

Vanderbilt began its research in 2009 with a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study the effectiveness of the state pre-K program. It expanded significantly in 2005 when the legislature passed the Voluntary pre-K for Tennessee Act. Over the next few years, the state added 786 pre-K classrooms, including dozens in Memphis.

Since Gov. Bill Haslam was elected, the legislature has been reluctant to add pre-K funding. Haslam has said he is awaiting further research on future funding decisions.

The study is following 3,000 children from pre-K to third grade when they will take the state TCAP exams for the first time.

Its first report in 2011 showed that children in pre-K made 45 percent gains in literacy and math skills over children who did not have pre-K. In the second report, out late last week, the gains evaporated as the students moved through kindergarten and first grade.

"The focus in preschool is learning ABCs and other fundamental concepts. At some point, all the kids will know them. It's hard to maintain the advantage," Lipsey said.

Research this spring by the former Memphis City Schools showed the gains persisted well into third grade. The research, a response to inquiries about the effectiveness of its pre-K from the Shelby County Commission, looked at children who had attended either MCS pre-K or classes provided by Shelby County Head Start. Children who received services from both, including "wraparound" social care, outperformed the others, including the control group that attended neither program.

In third grade, for instance, children from poor families receiving services from both programs scored 39 percent proficient in reading compared to 36.9 in the control group. In math, 41.6 percent of the children were proficient in math, compared to the 30 percent in the control group.

In a city where 50 percent of the children do not start kindergarten ready to learn, "it just makes sense that it is going to take more effort," Barbara Prescott, head of the city's PeopleFirst initiative. "If pre-K can get them up to speed, and we work to make sure there is a good teacher in front of them in every single grade, that will give them a change to stay on target."

This summer, the unified school district announced it was cutting 82 pre-K classrooms, due to an $8 million shortage it said was caused by the sequestration. After public complaints, the district restored 40 classrooms, but the cuts still reduced seats for 400 high-need children in Memphis.

The city now has 170 high-quality pre-K classrooms, not counting those in the private sector that operate independently of the school district.